Gators Notebook: DT Dominique Easley excelling now that he's more at home

Halapio has been lining up against Easley day after day since preseason practice began and he's been having a hard time handling the 6-foot-1, 285-pound sophomore from Staten Island, N.Y. Opposing offensive linemen won't know how to deal with Easley's quickness, Halapio said.

"He's really explosive off the ball," Halapio said. "I don't know if he knows the snap count, but he's just really quick off the ball. I can't even get out of my stance, and by the time I get out of my stance, he's already in my pads."

Easley has been so eager to get off the ball that coach Will Muschamp told offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to have quarterbacks use hard counts to get Easley to jump offside so Easley will be able to better control himself and won't cost the Gators 5 yards.

"We work on that an awful lot, and he's done a better job of holding in there," Muschamp said.

Easley made four tackles in 10 games last season. He started slowly but came on late in the season. Part of the reason for his slow start was the fact that he was homesick. He had it bad, too.

"I didn't think I was going to be that homesick," he said. "[I missed the] fast life [of New York]."

Easley has gotten over that, though, and said he's much more comfortable in Gainesville. That's a big reason why he's been better on the field, he said.

"I had to break myself in," Easley said. "I'm more in [tune with the team], thinking about football 24-7."

No one emerging at receiver

Muschamp mentioned three names when asked about the receiver position at the beginning of fall practice: Frankie Hammond, Deonte Thompson, Quinton Dunbar.

Those are the same names he's mentioning as the Gators head into their first game week of the season.

Andre Debose has occasionally showed his skills but has struggled with consistency, Muschamp said. Nobody among the group has emerged as dependable, big-time playmaker yet, either.

"When a play needs to be made, it came from everybody," Hammond said. "From me, to DT [Thompson], to [Debose], to Robert Clark. I mean I've seen just about everybody make an acrobatic catch at some point in camp. So I can't really pinpoint it and say that somebody has been sticking out more than the other."

Tickets available

Tickets for four home games are available after visiting teams returned parts of their allotment.

Single-game tickets for the season opener against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 3, UAB (Sept. 10), Vanderbilt (Nov. 5) and Furman (Nov. 19) can be purchased online at Gatorzone.com/tickets, by calling 1-800-344-2867, ext. 6800 or going to the ticket office at Florida Field.

Demps up for award

Running back Jeff Demps was named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. Demps is one of 30 candidates for the award. Ten finalists will be named midway through the season, and the media, coaches and fans will vote on the winner.